County: Old A1A lawsuit settled

Breaking the deadlock

One of the last segments of a storm-wrecked and forgotten Florida highway will get the repair and maintenance it needs to serve the St. Johns County residents who live along its length.

That north-south route, Old Highway A1A, runs along the beach from Summer Haven to the Matanzas bridge.

In 2008, twenty-eight homeowners along Old A1A sued St. Johns County, but this week that case ended with a compromise.

County Attorney Patrick McCormack said the deal was “a favorable settlement” for both sides.

“It gives reasonable assurance to the Summer Haven homeowners (that Old A1A will be usable) and protects the St. Johns County taxpayer,” McCormack said. “The county will make good faith efforts to maintain Old A1A in an ‘as is’ condition.”

West Palm Beach attorney Tom Warner of Carlton Fields, representing the homeowners, also was pleased.

“The county had a constitutional duty to repair and maintain that road,” Warner said. “If we had gone to trial in February, there could have been a million-dollar judgment against the county.”

Breaking the deadlock

Compromise was achieved in part through a mediation that included County Commissioner Bill McClure.

But McClure on Thursday gave credit for the settlement to the legal team headed by County Attorney Patrick McCormack and assisted by Jacksonville attorney Steven Gallagher of Marks Gray.

“They did a wonderful job of getting it to a point where everyone could understand one another,” McClure said. “The trial in February could have lasted three to four weeks. All our constitutional officers were subpoenaed. This is a great settlement for all parties involved.”

According to Warner, McClure brought leadership to the table.

“The homeowners wanted anybody with authority to talk about settling this case. His presence changed the whole chemistry and dynamic. They saw that someone was willing to listen and solve this in a reasonable manner, somebody who really cared,” he said.

The road

Old A1A is a narrow brick county road that was built back in the 1920s.

The current State Road A1A was built to avoid the occasional washouts the road experienced.

The Summer Haven access issue began back in 2004 when a hurricane washed away the southernmost section of Old A1A.

The County Commission then was faced with a Hobson’s choice: Repair the road for $1 million just to see it wash away again or leave it alone and doom the residents to isolation without usable road access.

One commissioner said to leave it alone and let the homeowners deal with it. The commission could have abandoned the road but was unwilling to do so.

In May 2005, a man suffered a spinal injury in the 9000 block of Old A1A, but a St. Johns Fire-Rescue truck could not get closer than a quarter mile to the house. The man had to be strapped to a backboard and carried the distance to the truck, which then got stuck in the sand.

That brought the issue to public attention and built pressure on the commission to do something.

Also that May, the commission voted to impose a building moratorium on Summer Haven, halting approval of all construction and repairs that were not already permitted.

Public Works built a 6-foot wide berm — using $950,000 in FEMA funds — to protect the road from the ocean, but the berm washed away quickly.

At the time, Warner argued, “If the county doesn’t want to fix the road, let it buy the (65) properties.”

This week, Warner said the county’s moratorium had destroyed the value and marketability of Summer Haven properties.

The southernmost end of Old A1A is paved and passable.

Going north brings an unpaved stretch of hard-packed sand and coquina that is also passable. North of that, outside the county right-of-way, is softer sand.

What’s next

Most of the 28 homeowners have signed onto this week’s compromise, Warner said, adding that many of them live outside St. Johns County and need to be tracked down.

“We didn’t expect a big paycheck here,” he said. “If (the homeowners) were paid damages by the county, they’d have to take care of the road themselves.”

The county agreed to a $75,000 payment to the plaintiffs to cover litigation costs, but not attorney fees.

This will pay expert testimony costs, the court reporter and other fees.

“It doesn’t cover (those costs), but it helps,” Warner said.

Since 2008, Summer Haven homeowners have paid 10 mills in property tax — over what they would ordinarily pay. This fund collects $11,000 to $16,000 a year which goes into a special fund that partly covers maintenance costs.

McCormack said the settlement was approved by the County Commission on Tuesday.

“The plaintiffs gave up their demand for the county to fully rebuild Old A1A,” he said.

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Google Earth????? Folks you do realize (Oh you probably don't since most of you are transplants) that before they moved A1A that that was the main drag right? No? Oh well. It also ran through Anastasia Park and there was no 312. Oh really? Those homes (or some of them) date back to when A1A was frequently traveled and was not a road built to facilitate homes. Hey most of the people that own homes there are despicable I'll agree to that however believe me when I tell you that if your collecting taxes from these folks then you better provide some services! Now if those idiots would have abandoned the road and took them off the tax role we would have been better off however we had a commissioner that was focused on West King St. Thank God he's gone so I guess they did the best they could with little choice.

YEAH! Screw all those "rich" people that bought a house that had a road so they could use it! Bet you wouldn't be saying that it it was your family member that had to be walked out to an ambulance because they couldn't drive to you. Guess what-they pay TAXES on their property that are supposed to be used to maintain county roads you fools.